China launches spacecraft early after orbital junk incident

Beijing [China], November 26: China on Tuesday launched a spacecraft to its space outpost ahead of schedule, and without a crew, due to damage to another craft believed to have been caused by orbital debris.
The Long March-2F carrier rocket lifted off at around 12pm (0400 GMT) from the Jiuquan spaceport in the Gobi Desert in north-western China with the unmanned spacecraft Shenzhou (Divine Vessel) 22, according to the manned spaceflight authority in Beijing. The spacecraft, carrying food and spare parts, is scheduled to dock with the Chinese space station Tiangong (Heavenly Palace), currently occupied by the three-member crew of the Shenzhou 21 mission - made up of Zhang Lu, Wu Fei and Zhang Hongzhang. (DPA)
Source: Qatar Tribune